Heroes and Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross

Saturday, January 19th, 2013

All-Day Event!

November 10, 2012 - February 24, 2013

Heroes & Villains is the first museum exhibition celebrating the artwork of Alex Ross, today’s foremost comic book artist. Ross, acclaimed for the photorealism of his work, is often referred to as “the Norman Rockwell of the comics world.” Heroes & Villains features over 130 paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures from Ross’s personal collection. The pieces range from a crayon drawing of Spider-Man that he created at the age of four to paintings from his early career on projects like Marvels and Kingdom Come through to his more recent work on Flash Gordon and Green Hornet. This exhibition outlines Ross’s career of redefining comic books and graphic novels for a new generation of followers of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and other classic comic book superheroes.

Showcasing the strong influence of American illustration and Pop Art on Alex Ross, original works by Norman Rockwell, Andrew Loomis, J.C. Leyendecker, and Andy Warhol are included. Artworks by Ross's mother Lynette Ross (a successful commercial illustrator in her own right) are on display as well. A selection of comic books and related paraphernalia collected by Warhol throughout his life are showcased within the exhibit.

Heroes & Villains is the first museum exhibition of Ross’s work and comprises four galleries. Ross has graciously prepared an original artwork for Norman Rockwell Museum which is available to the public in poster form exclusively at The Museum Store, and online at store.nrm.org*, in November. Ross will also make a rare appearance for the opening celebration on November 10, 2012.